Plenty
21 May 2010

Some of you may remember that I’ve written about Ottolenghi before. They’ve been running this fabulous place for eight years now, and I still love what they do.   I regularly chat with Yotam, the owner and chef patron, who is...

 

A Taste of Yellow (and A Little Bit of Orange)
11 September 2009

This is my entry for this year’s Live Strong with A Taste of Yellow that my dear friend Barbara is hosting. The event is to support the Lance Armstrong Foundation in aid of cancer awareness. As you know already if...

 

Last of the Season
1 December 2006

It’s been a while since we got back to cold, wet England – and still seem to be on Pacific time, already missing the sun (and people :)) in California. We enjoyed lovely food throughout the stay, but not being...

 

Summer Pasta and Bakewell Tart
13 July 2006

For me, there is nothing better than having cold noodles when the warm weather puts you off hot food. Summertime here in the UK actually isn’t bad at all, compared to Japan where it is so hot and humid, even...

 

The Month of...
19 May 2006

Asparagus – that’s what it is now here in the UK. It is available for just a few weeks and its appearance at markets is a sure sign that summer in on the way (I’m sorry if I sound over...

 

Gravlax with a Twist
10 April 2006

We managed to go for a ride on the motorbike for the first time this year – the wind was still chilly and I had a super runny nose during the ride, but the sun is definitely getting stronger, we’ve...

 

Jimmy's Farm
9 March 2006

Many thanks to Hillel at Tasting Menu for organising the 2006 Independent Food Festival and Awards – this year marks the second time around for this event and the juries have been writing wonderfully about the food they are most...

 

... and Now for Something Fishy...
23 February 2006

When I was in Japan (where I am from), I never appreciated the fact that you can get very fresh fish/seafood anytime. Although they have really good meat too, fish is an essential ingredient of much of our cooking (don’t...

 

Truffle & White Bean Soup
2 December 2005

It’s been really cold and miserable here since the clocks went back – I’ve got so many chilblains on my feet! I’m afraid we’ll need lots of comfort food this winter, especially warm, hearty soups. This soup – found in Starters...

 

Still in a Green Mood... Hot, Fragrant and Lively Curry
19 August 2005

I’m sure everyone has their own green curry recipe – and mine is from the book Appetite by Nigel Slater (he has a very similar recipe in Real Food too). I must say that I’m not sure about the way...

 

Roasted Wild Sea Bass Baked on a bed of Potatoes and Wild Mushrooms
9 August 2005

Although there is no contest when it comes to the varieties of fish/shellfish we can get here in the UK compared to what I was used to in Japan, decent fish can be found here too – as long as...

 

Fresh Chorizo Sandwich with Tomato Salsa (and some pics from our garden)
28 July 2005

Although we’ve had disappointing weather recently, we are trying to use our DIY re-done garden as much as we can. I thought I’d take some photos (including our naughty cat) while the weather is still nice, the one on top...

 

Summer Vegetables in a Herb Nage
20 July 2005

When we got these lovely vegetables from our neighbour friend Peter, who grows all sorts of things in his nearby allotment, I was thinking about making minestrone with pesto – but I just remembered a gorgeous sounding recipe from Starters...

 

Grilled Quail Day
6 April 2005

I’ve been enjoying trying recipes from these books – Moro and Casa Moro – written by the popular Moro restaurant owners Sam and Sam Clark. Their recipes are mainly North African, Spanish and Middle Eastern which were quite new to...

 

Stromboli - Rocket Pesto and Mozzarella Loaf
16 March 2005

This is another entry from the book Bringing Italy Home by Ursula Ferrigno – I quite like fresh cheese but am not mad about it when it’s melted (so I often make pizza without cheese for myself!). For some reason...

 

Market Day
5 March 2005

I hope this picture won’t scare too many people! We got some lovely sea bass at the local market today and regardless of moaning about Jamie Oliver in the last post, I decided to cook them with his old recipe....

 

The power of AGA
27 February 2005

I still remember when I first had this lovely dish more than four years ago. My friend Cheryl – who has wonderful taste and is also a great cook – she and her husband Neil had a lovely cottage in...

 

Thoughts about Bread Making
25 February 2005

I have a love and hate relationship with bread making. I’ve always wanted to make nice simple bread that you can taste the ingredients of as you chew, but I often end up getting rather disappointed. I’d like to think...

 

It's Cold Outside...
20 February 2005

We’ve had cold, wet, miserable weather (even snow) recently – which isn’t uncommon in this country, as you might know. I really needed warm, comfort food to get through this, so I made beetroot soup for lunch. I know some...

 

Fresh or dried?
10 February 2005

I know most people wouldn’t agree, but I prefer dried pasta to fresh. I got a pasta machine from one of my friends a while ago. However, I’ve only used it TWICE – maybe I should consider to give...

 

Cured duck breasts with melon, soy and pickled ginger
9 February 2005

I was curious about this recipe – I found it in the book Food Heroes by Rick Stein and it says that he first tried the dish at a restaurant called Berowra Waters in Sydney in the 1980s. (quite a...